Paul Allen Wood Shaffer, CM is a Canadian-American musician, actor, voice actor, author, comedian, and composer who has been David Letterman's sidekick since 1982. Shaffer was born and raised in Fort William , Ontario, Canada, the son of Shirley and Bernard Shaffer, a lawyer. Shaffer was raised in a Jewish family. As a child, Shaffer had lessons on the piano, and moved on to playing the organ by his teenage years, in a band with his schoolmates in Thunder Bay. Educated at the University of Toronto, he began playing with jazz guitarist Tisziji Muñoz, performing in bands around the bars... there, where he found an interest in musicals, and completed his studies, with a B.A. degree in Sociology in 1971. Shaffer began his music career in 1972 as the musical director for the Toronto production of Godspell, starring Victor Garber, Gilda Radner, Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Dave Thomas and Andrea Martin.
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| Birthdate: | November 28, 1949 |
| Birthplace: | Fort William, Ontario |
| Age: | 62 |
| Education: | University of Toronto |
| Religion: | Judaism |
| Also known as: | Paul "The Shiv" Shaffer, Paul Allan Shaffer, The Honeydippers |